Texts from a Stranger
by Dear Jay
Summary: Kageyama Tobio is a sophomore undergraduate student in Tohoku University who hopes to be an engineer. After classes one day, he receives a text message from a number that he doesn't know. When Kageyama asks who this is, all the person says is "I'm sorry."
1. The First Text Message

It was just another normal day for Kageyama Tobio. For breakfast, he had a bowl of tamago-kake-gohan, rice with raw egg and soy sauce, and a cup of milk tea. As soon as he was done, he went on to change into his clothes so that he could go to school. He decided to wear a pair of jeans and a striped shirt. It was cool outside, so he shrugged on a long-sleeved denim shirt and put on a black hat.

He only had two elective classes today, so he one 700-page textbook and one 900-page textbook into his bag and went out to catch a bus to his school, Tohoku University. It wasn't that far away; he had managed to find a small one-room 10 minutes away from the school by bus.

Kageyama put his earphones on once he was on the bus and started listening to a song while looking out the window. The usual routine. Going to classes around noon, getting high grades, coming home around 6, finishing assignments, sleeping. The same would happen the next day, and the next day. Sometimes he would go out and get a drink with his classmates or old high school friends, but that rarely happened.

So Kageyama was surprised to find a text message in his phone after he was done with computer classes.

 _Hi, is this Kageyama Tobio's phone?_ Said the text message.

Kageyama wondered if this was some kind of prank or spam message. He remembered his mother telling him not to respond to messages he got from people he didn't know.

But apparently this wasn't someone Kageyama didn't know, because he had the person saved into his contacts as _Boke_ (dumbass). Kageyama wondered who it was. It seemed as if he had been rather close to that person, if he had him saved as _Boke_ (*"dumbass" in Japanese).

So Kageyama, not being able to win his curiosity, decided to text the person back.

 _Yes, who is this?_ He typed in, and pressed enter. A minute or so after, he received another text.

 _Ah, you don't need to know._ _Do you still stay up late?_

Still? _Still_ stay up late? Who was this person? Kageyama shivered slightly. But he did, in fact, "still" happen to stay up late. He had always been staying up late since as long as he could remember. So he wrote back to the stranger: _Yes._

 _You haven't changed, haha._

Kageyama didn't know what to say to that. _Who are you?_ He typed back. _Who are you and how do you know me?_

 _You don't need to know. I'm sorry, Tobio._

"Tobio." The only people who called him Tobio were his parents and his middle school and high school upperclassman, Oikawa Tooru. But Kageyama's instincts told him this wasn't Oikawa.

After all, Oikawa Tooru seemed to hate Kageyama for some reason. Kageyama didn't even know how Oikawa Tooru knew him- they were two years apart, and during their middle and high school years, Oikawa had spent most of his time in the school volleyball court, while Kageyama had spent most of his time studying math or science in hopes of becoming an engineer, like his uncle.

Granted, Oikawa and himself used to live close by, about 3 or 4 houses apart, and Kageyama would sometimes see Oikawa in his way to school or when he looked out the window sometimes, walking down the road with his friends.

But he hadn't met Oikawa after the upperclassman had gone to college in Tokyo. Sure, he had seen him once, sitting on a bench in a park near his house during vacations after his second year in high school, with a bright-haired boy that looked about 13 that had looked like he was crying his eyes out. Kageyama remembered meeting eyes with the boy, and how the boy had cried even more upon seeing him. _Oikawa-san has weird friends,_ he had thought and had gotten away from the place as fast as he could.

 _Besides,_ Kageyama thought to himself, _I have Oikawa-san's number. This isn't Oikawa who is texting me._

If Kageyama had gotten these text messages during night, he would have been rather scared. Fortunately, this had happened during the day, so Kageyama was just able to forget about the messages and proceed to his next class.

He sat down on a random desk and put his stuff down. He didn't have any friends in this class, so he decided to get a little rest until the professor came in. He lay his head down on the desk and closed his eyes. It was still 15 minutes before class started.

"Can I sit next to you?" A voice whispered near his ear. It was a high-pitched voice, but Kageyama could tell that it was a male speaking to him. The voice reminded him of a little boy's voice that hadn't yet gone through puberty.

Kageyama brought his head up slowly and replied, "yeah, sure," drowsily. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bright-haired student in a yellow hoodie and jeans looking through his bag to find the book for the elective class. The said student was short, around 170 cm or even less, and Kageyama wasn't even sure if he was 20 years old. He looked about 16, at most. It seemed as if the boy could feel Kageyama looking at him, because he turned away from his bag to look at Kageyama.

"Oh, hi, my name is Hinata Shouyou," the student said brightly, "you can call me Hinata!"

"Kageyama Tobio," Kageyama said rather curtly. The boy, Hinata, bit his lip slightly and nodded. He went back to digging through his bag, and Kageyama went back to resting his head on the desk. He couldn't help but think that he had seen "Hinata Shouyou" somewhere. Hinata seemed so familiar for some reason.

Kageyama later found out, after class, after Hinata was long gone, that he might have thought so because Hinata Shouyou was part of the Japanese national volleyball team. _Oikawa's also part of the national team,_ Kageyama thought absently. He wondered why he was thinking of Oikawa so much today, when he had lived without remembering that there was a person named Oikawa Tooru that had lived in his neighborhood before.

However, something inside Kageyama seemed to tell him that Hinata Shouyou being part of the national team was not the only reason why Hinata had seemed familiar to him.

Kageyama decided to ignore that "something" inside of him.

.

.

.

It was 3:30 in the morning, and Kageyama was struggling to finish his assignment for his major class tomorrow. He had a cup of ice americano, a Red Bull can and some chocolate next to him in case he felt sleepy.

Because he felt sleepy, Kageyama took a sip from the Red Bull can as he typed up his report. Kageyama Tobio was not a procrastinator, but a perfectionist. He had started the assignment the day the professor had given it to them, and this was the 5th time he was writing this paper. Although he wasn't satisfied with certain parts of it, he was tired and sleepy, and all he wanted to do at this point was get a good, long sleep without being molested by nightmares of any sort.

Kageyama munched on the last piece of chocolate that was left and emptied the cup of americano into his mouth as he was typing up the last part of his conclusion. Kageyama didn't even know what he was writing at this point. He typed in whatever came into his mind, and he told himself that he could wake up early the next morning and look over it once more just in case. If he didn't like the conclusion, maybe he could use the conclusion from his 3rd draft. He had liked the conclusion in his 2nd draft as well.

Kageyama put his computer to sleep and plugged the power cord into the wall so that it would charge overnight as he tugged his striped shirt over his head with one hand and undid his jeans with the other. When he was done changing, he felt like he could literally just fall asleep in his warm, furry pajamas, but managed to drag himself into his bed and then sleep.


	2. The Second Text Message

Hinata high-fived Oikawa after spiking yet another ball into the floor of the other side of the court. "Nice toss, Oikawa-san!"

"Nice spike, chibi-chan!" Oikawa beamed back.

He still called Hinata chibi-chan, because Hinata had been, is and will always be smaller than him. Hinata was not even 170 cm tall, while Oikawa himself was over 185 cm. He remembered seeing Hinata in Karasuno's practice match against Aoba Jousai in the beginning of his 3rd year. Hinata had called Oikawa "The Great King" back then…. And Oikawa decided he should stop thinking about the past right then.

The coach called for a break, and Oikawa went to stand beside Hinata, who was drinking out from his Potari Sweat bottle. "I don't get what you like so much about that drink," Oikawa said jokingly, thrusting his chin towards the blue bottle Hinata was holding as he picked up his orange Poweraid bottle. "It tastes like spit and sweat."

Hinata gagged. "When have you ever tried sweat?!"

"Oh, chibi-chan, you taste your sweat every day," Oikawa said, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't drink this in my first year of high school," Hinata said solemnly, ignoring Oikawa's last comment. "I used to like Poweraid more as well. But then I tried it in my second year and decided it tasted fine enough. Besides, Coach Ukai always used to tell me that Potari Sweat is better for my body."

"Ah." Oikawa decided not to push any further on the subject of why Hinata drank Potari Sweat. "Chibi-chan, have you gone to the new cake shop around the corner? I've heard the strawberry shortcake there is really good. Or do you like mint chocolate ice cream cakes?"

Hinata's face instantly brightened up. Oikawa was glad, for once, that Hinata was a single-celled idiot with an awful memory. "Yes, yes! I love both! Do they also have tiramisu cakes?"

Oikawa laughed and ruffled Hinata's already messy hair. "Of course they do! Let's go after practice, shall we?"

Hinata nodded eagerly. All Oikawa saw was a short, bright haired boy smiling at the thought of strawberry shortcakes and tiramisu cakes. He did not know that Hinata himself was trying hard not to let Oikawa know that his thoughts were still lingering over the time when he had been a first year at Karasuno High.

The year when everything had started. The year he had met his first teammates and had started playing volleyball for real. The year he had met his first partner. The year he had met his current partner. The year he had met most of his current teammates. The year when he had started his first love. The year when he went on his first date. The year when all of that ended.

The year when he had made a mistake he never should have made.

"Shouyou, what are you staring at? We should go practice," Nishinoya Yuu, the libero of the national team, and Hinata's old and current teammate said, clapping his back. "Nice spike, by the way. I honestly thought you were flying right then." Nishinoya grinned widely, putting his thumb out.

"Thank you, Noya-san!" Hinata replied right away, jumping up and down, "your receives are great as always! I don't even know how to compliment them anymore!" He laughed loudly.

Nishinoya laughed alongside Hinata. He was short, even shorter than Hinata; his height lingered around the mid-160cms. Nishinoya blinked his wide eyes at the sound of the whistle. "Let's go, Shouyou," he exclaimed, "let's win. Let's do two times more than we actually can."

"Yes," Hinata cried, "let's do it."

 _For him._

.

.

.

"We meet again!"

Kageyama turned his head lazily to the side when he heard a familiar voice. Hinata Shouyou's voice. The said student was wearing a red and black checkered shirt and jeans today. His bright hair was sticking up in cowlicks, just like the last time Kageyama had seen him. Kageyama had to resist himself from reaching up and brushing his hair down. Instead, Kageyama muttered, "hi," propping his head up in the huge textbook in front of him, "I heard you were a volleyball player in the national team."

Hinata smiled widely. "And I heard you were most good-looking sophomore in Tohoku Uni…!" Hinata was unable to finish that sentence because someone hit him on the back of his head. Kageyama recognized the person as Sekimukai Kouji, the guy who majored in chemical engineering. They had a few classes together. Apparently he was Hinata Shouyou's friend.

"For fuck's sake, Shouyou, you don't just go around telling people that!" Sekimukai Kouji yelled, and Kageyama thought he reminded him of Iwaizumi Hajime, Oikawa Tooru's childhood friend. All of Kageyama's memories of Iwaizumi Hajime either had Iwaizumi yelling and swearing at Oikawa or hitting him on the back of his head.

Hinata made a face at his supposed friend and pouted, his full bottom lips coming out to form a pout.

And then the professor came in, and that was the last time Kageyama saw Hinata Shouyou, the middle blocker in the national volleyball team, in that semester, in that class.

Kageyama felt sort of bad for leaving Hinata Shouyou without saying good bye right after class ended, but he couldn't help it; he had been an idiot to sign up for two classes in a row on a Monday, ten minutes apart. It didn't help that the professor for the former class had ended classes 5 minutes late that day. His second class, World History, was on the other side of campus. He had to run as fast as he could. He told himself he would be able to see Hinata Shouyou the next class as well. He promised himself that he would talk a little more to the boy next class. He was, after all, the only person that had talked to him in college apart from projects. Kageyama didn't really have friends; they were all acquaintances.

Kageyama was disappointed when he arrived at class 2 minutes early, only to see the paper on the door of the classroom saying that World History classes were cancelled for today. He sat down on the floor of the hallway in front of the classroom, huffing for air. He had run a kilometer in 3 minutes, and he felt like dying. And this was what he got. Cancelled classes.

Of course, he was happy classes were cancelled. He would have been more happy if he hadn't run a kilometer in 3 minutes right before he found out.

He looked at his watch. It was half past 4. He felt hungry for some reason, and decided to go to a convenience store nearby to get instant ramen and onigiris with a tuna mayonnaise filling.

Kageyama was halfway through almost literally inhaling his ramen when he heard the _ding_ of a text message. He almost choked, and had to drink a mouth full of aloe vera juice to help the spicy noodles go down. It was a text message from "Boke."

 _Are you busy?_

Kageyama stared at the text message. A second later, another one came:

 _You're studying in college now, right?_

Kageyama wasn't sure if he should respond. He _had_ talked to this "Boke" person a couple of times after the first text messages, but they'd been just really simple things, like whether he still liked fried eggs, and whether his birthday really was on December. But then, this was also a really simple question.

 _Yes._ Kageyama answered.

 _What do you major in?_

It would be really awkward for the person on the other end of the line if he didn't respond now, so he decided to reply. _Mechanical engineering_. He typed in.

 _Do you play any sports?_

Kageyama knew he should say no, because he didn't. He was probably one of the least fit people on campus. No, that was a lie. Kageyama was fit, but he just didn't exercise. It seemed as if his body had been made to do sports.

Kageyama shook his head. He was getting off track. He should just say no. He had heard, from his aunt who had visited him last year, that he had done some judo in primary. Kageyama didn't have many memories from elementary school, or middle school, as a matter of fact. If there was one thing Kageyama agreed on with Kunimi Akira, his high school classmate who Kageyama always yelled 15 types of different curses at, was that Kageyama had a bad long term memory.

So he typed in, _No._

 _That sucks. You should try soccer._

 _Do you play soccer?_

Kageyama thought that was a stupid question right after he pressed the send button. Of course the person played soccer. Why else would he be trying to coax Kageyama into playing soccer?

And Kageyama was proved wrong by the other's answer.

 _No, haha. I just thought soccer would be the best sport for you._

 _What sport do you play, then?_

It was odd. Kageyama thought the other would answer right after he sent the text, but the answer never came. Kageyama decided to think about it some other time, and he turned back to his ramen. It was getting cold.

When his phone rang again, Kageyama was on the bus, on his way home. He had his earphones on and was listening to a song one of his high school friends, Kindaichi Yutaro had recommended: it was called Grade Skipping. Kageyama had ripped it off of a Youtube page, so he had forgotten who the singer was. But the song was good. Kageyama didn't care.

Naturally, Kageyama was annoyed and contemplated the idea of ignoring the text that had burst in in the middle of his song with a loud whistle on his ear. He made a mental note to himself to turn the text alarms off; nobody texted him anyways. Except for "Boke." Kageyama, suddenly feeling excited for some reason, clicked on the home button and then on the message icon.

 _I play volleyball,_ the text said.

And Kageyama couldn't help but feel as if he had known that answer.


End file.
